BSc Management: The first semester at KLU

The first quarter

I am currently in the second semester of my studies and I can assure you that time passes quickly. The months between September 2015 and March 2016 felt like just a few weeks. One reason for that is presumably that there’s always something to do – and not only study-wise.

The course workload is neither too heavy nor too light. The program is separated into a fixed amount of credit points per semester, where one credit equals an approximate workload of 30 hours. The recommendations in the brochure provide you with a rough idea of how much you will be doing in the two quarters.

In the first semester, we took several fundamental courses as a foundation for our later studies.

Here is a short overview and description of the courses so far (in chronological order):

We began with three courses in the first quarter. “Communication and Academic Fundamentals” is simply an introduction to the academic writing style, academic presentations, and talks. It also helps you understand the basics of human communication a bit better. It will provide you with an extremely useful toolbox for the courses to follow (and it’s interactive, so it is fun too).

Another course is called “Management Fundamentals.” It is an introduction to the world of management and business. What I especially liked here is that we worked with case studies: we discussed them in the lectures and had to develop our own, individual solutions.

Next on the list is “Essential Mathematics for Business and Economics,” which is also all about supplying you with the right toolbox for your later studies. In this course, you will learn all about the mathematics required for the following courses. Do not worry if you have not worked with math for a while or do not feel like you are good at math. If you need some help, there are bi-monthly tutorials in which you solve exercises and work with a different professor. Although I liked math’s rational nature and had fun working with numbers, I somehow never excelled in it during my high school years. Don’t worry – you will probably adapt and work your way through the materials just like I did.

After the first quarter of the first semester, you can look forward to the very first examination period before you start with the second half and have new courses and professors.

The second quarter

As you probably already know, we have the option to specialize during the last two semesters of our bachelor’s program, either choosing management with seminars exclusively on this business topic or logistics where you will attend seminars exclusively on supply chain management, etc.

Although I did a short internship in a logistics company, the theoretical approach was more or less completely new to me. Getting to know the topic better before deciding upon my specialization was crucial.

In the second quarter of my studies, I had a mandatory logistics course called “Logistics and Supply Chain Management Fundamentals,” which focuses on the very basics of the theoretical approach to logistics. It provides you with a good basis for making a fact-based decision about your specialization, which will follow in the fifth and sixth semesters.

The course content was very interesting and I managed to successfully put it all on a double-page (my greatest achievement since my application):

My amazing cheat sheets ;-)

 



In addition to this first insight into logistics, I took “Fundamentals of Accounting,” a course that explores the basics of managerial and financial accounting. Since the beginning of my studies I was convinced that my dream job would be in logistics. Accounting, a subject I hardly thought about before studying at KLU, managed to challenge my plan as I had a lot of fun during the course and our professor was extraordinarily motivating.

I even began applying for internships in the area of financial accounting, which will be the topic of another entry.

The obligatory exam week will come after the second quarter and then I’m off on a well-deserved vacation...

Bye for now,

Helen

BSc Managment: Hi, my name is Helen!

Hi! My name is Helen... 

and since September 2015 I am a bachelor’s student here at KLU. Just last year, I graduated from Buckhorn Gymnasium in Hamburg (the German equivalent to a high school). In my last two years there, I decided to focus on economics. In this German state, you have to choose a profile and mine was called “Economic, Social and Political Studies in Britain and Europe.”

 

Me, myself and I

After my last two years of high school, I was sure that I want to continue studying something international related to economics, preferably in English.

One of the most reputable newspapers in Germany issues a guide to degree programs every year: the “ZEIT Studienführer.” A very handy book, it lists approximately 17,000 different degree programs available in Germany. Roughly 50% of them fit my vaguely formulated: “something international with English and economics.” I was a bit overwhelmed by the thousands of options. 

I expected the search to be time intensive, so in November 2014 I began attending every single fair there is in Hamburg and every single open day I came across. Ultimately, the booklet handed out by the state university in Hamburg led me to the open day at KLU in March 2014. There, I met Anja from our student recruitment office. She explained KLU’s broad curriculum, its international environment, the scholarship opportunities and the application process in detail. I was certain that I had found the university where I wanted to get my bachelor’s degree. I began filling out the application forms almost immediately.

I have to admit that my international background is unspectacular. I have never spent more than the usual holidays abroad and encountered English only as a school subject and a CAE course. I seized the opportunity to become part of something truly international and engage with people from various cultures for the first time, and also have the opportunity to visit another university during my semester abroad.

When I was admitted to the program in April 2015, I was extremely happy. After being here for two semesters, I can say that my expectations have been more than met so far. I am very pleased with my studies and with being part of a great class.

Bye for now,

Helen